Only If You Want (2/2)
Part 2
“Want to go visit Namsan tower with me this Sunday before the new semester? Oh, and just so you’re not confused again, I’m asking you out on a date.”
“You’re so funny,” Baekhyun sarcastically remarked as he shifted his upright position on the bed, making sure that he kept the laptop between them stable.
Watching a movie on Netflix had become a normal occurrence over the break (and so did cuddling), so having Chanyeol in his dorm room felt more and more normal each time. At one point, he did worry about being too attached and missing the same activities later when everything was back to normal with the turn of the new spring semester, but that was already a given. He was already expecting to see Chanyeol less and more sporadic than regularly over the course of the months just by the fact that he was a computer science engineer and the workload was more intensive than Baekhyun’s own courses. But he decided to just enjoy the few days left they had.
“Is that a yes?”
“Yeah. Sounds fun.” The tower was a popular spot for couples to go to for dates, ultimately popular for the locks many people left behind. They weren’t official, just casually… together. For a moment, he wondered if Chanyeol wanted to do the whole lock thing, maybe scribble their names on one of the wooden posts on the way up the mountain. It seemed a little too early in their relationship, but there were always exceptions to the rule.
“By the way,” Chanyeol started, leaning against Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Can I ask you a question? If you don’t mind.”
“Shoot.”
“What were you doing at the party that night?” he asked. “I have a friend--Sehun. He’s part of the fraternity that threw the party so I’ve been to a few of the other ones. Most of the people I recognized, but you were just there that one time. You also left really abruptly, by the way. Didn’t even catch your name.”
“That was the point of leaving,” Baekhyun snorted, shaking his head. “A friend of mine was just looking after me. I didn’t know you at the time. Plus, I was having issues with my boyfriend back then, so it really wasn’t smart to do that with other people and--”
“Wait... Boyfriend?” Chanyeol reached out and tapped the space bar, pausing the movie. Then he turned his head, giving Baekhyun a confused expression. “You have a boyfriend.”
“Oh, sorry. Um, we just broke up around then, so he was my ex by the time we met. I kind of just felt like he still was.”
“So, no.”
“No, I don’t,” Baekhyun firmly said. When he felt Chanyeol relax, he sighed, grabbing his phone from the window sill where it was charging. After he unplugged the device, he pulled up his last conversation with Jongin. “See? Last thing he sent was an invite to get together with all our friends back home. Up until now, we haven’t talked at all.”
Glancing at the phone, Chanyeol quirked his lips before looking back and meeting Baekhyun’s gaze. “So, what I’m hearing is that you were pretending that I was…him…when we kissed.”
“That’s not exactly how I’d put it--”
“How would you put it as?”
Baekhyun wasn’t expecting the spot light to be on him. In his defense, he wasn’t even fantasizing about Jongin that night. It was purely with Chanyeol in mind, but saying it outright probably wouldn’t have convinced him enough to believe anything that Baekhyun said. The expression on his face alone said that he was really bummed and--
“I’m just playing around.” Chanyeol settled back in bed, leaning against the headboard. “I know. You don’t have to look all flustered.”
Groaning, Baekhyun smacked his arm. “I’m just trying to make you feel better! You looked all butt hurt a second ago and you’re here making me feel bad.”
“I was kidding! I didn’t mean to make you feel bad,” Chanyeol quickly apologized. “But for the record, I wasn’t ‘hurt’, okay?”
Scoffing, Baekhyun pressed a finger on the giant’s chest. “Yes, you were,” he insisted. “And you’re also a really bad liar.”
“Uh huh.” Stretching his arm out, Chanyeol pulled the smaller male closer to him. “You’re right. Can’t lie about the fact that I’m kind of glad that night happened.”
“Really?”
Chanyeol pretended to think about it a while before nodding. “Yeah. It was pretty much luck that I met Kyungsoo. If I hadn’t, he would’ve never introduced us.”
Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo....
Shit.
“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked, noticing the frown set across his face.
“Hm? Nothing.”
Chanyeol didn’t look like he bought it. The curious look on his face gave that fact away in a split second. “Are you sure?”
Pressing his lips together, Baekhyun nodded. “Yeah. Let’s unpause the movie.”
-
-
It was always in the back of his mind that Kyungsoo had told him how much he liked Chanyeol, even enough to try and confess some time later in the beginning of the new semester. But the thoughts were never there explicitly--not when Chanyeol was really good at distracting him. In between hanging out and watching movies in bed, he just hadn’t thought about it enough.
Baekhyun glanced over to his right, watching Chanyeol think about which lock to pick from the vendor. Then, heaving his shoulder, he pulled out his phone and turned to the side.
[ Baekhyun ] : Hey, when are you coming back? I need to tell you something.
“Hey.” Chanyeol touched his arm, causing him to jerk his head up as he turned back around. “Which one do you like better? Do you want a small one or do you want that big plastic rubber heart? We’ll be able to write something longer with the plastic one, but it’s up to you. What do you want?”
The smaller one seemed fine. Baekhyun felt like the bigger one seemed more appropriate for a relationship that was actually more serious than what they had. Yet, at the end of the day, they were both locks and they were going to write their names on it anyways.
“I think the bigger one’s a lot cuter.” Baekhyun pointed at one of the bigger ones. “I like that blue one.”
“Okay!” Smiling at the vendor, Chanyeol nodded at the heart Baekhyun had chosen. “We’ll take that one.”
As the old woman who was selling the locks took out a new one that was still in its plastic packaging, Chanyeol opened his wallet and handed over the money. After noticing the transaction, Baekhyun pulled him off to the side once they were far away from the stand.
“How much was that?”
“Like… ₩15,000?”
Baekhyun gaped at him. “What the hell? Why was it so much?”
Shrugging, Chanyeol ripped open the plastic. “Because we decided to be a bunch of tourists and buy it on the spot instead of somewhere down below before we even came up here,” he laughed. “It’s okay, though. I don’t mind.”
“I’ll give you half when we get back to campus.”
“Don’t. I won’t take it.” Throwing the plastic away in the nearest trash can, Chanyeol refused to hear the smaller male’s arguments. “I’ll let you pay for our subway tickets later. Then we can call it even.”
“That’s only one-tenth of what it cost you to buy that.”
“Tell you what,” Chanyeol said, leaning down closer to him. “You don’t need to worry about it cause I consider you and this whole date priceless.”
Baekhyun scrunched his nose before looking away. “God, you’re so corny.”
“Only for you!”
-
-
Baekhyun x Chanyeol
Je ne suis pas sans toi.
“What does that mean?” Baekhyun asked once the lock was in place.
Chanyeol grinned, giving him a coy wink. “I’ll tell you a year from now.”
-
-
The first thing Heechul said when he walked in was “Did you miss me?” and it took Baekhyun by surprise when the door hit against the door stopper. It practically shook the entire room, but his roommate didn’t seem to care (or notice) as he continued to enter the room, dragging his luggage case behind him.
“What’s that smell?”
Baekhyun pushed the covers off of him and sat up from his bed. “It doesn’t smell like anything in here.”
“Are you sure? Cause it smells like sex in here.”
“What!?” Baekhyun all but screamed it, but his exclamation was loud enough to make Heechul cringe.
“Calm down. I wasn’t being serious.” Leaving his luggage by his desk, Heechul shuffled his way over to the bed. “You don’t have to yell and wake up the whole floor.”
“Sorry--”
“Unless you really did use this room for that while I was gone.”
Baekhyun was quick to deny it. Nothing went on between him and Chanyeol besides movies and (sometimes) falling asleep together. Still, his face began to feel hot. “Don’t be dumb. We didn’t.”
Cocking his head at him, Heechul smirked. “We?”
A split second later, Baekhyun realized his slip up. “Ah, no. That’s not what I--”
“So, you took him back here after your nerd date?” Heechul shook his head, acting disappointed. “Didn’t think you’d be the type to take a guy home after the first date, Byun.”
“I’m not.” In all correction, he did invite Chanyeol back to his dorm room, but that was after their first date. It was only for the whole Netflix and maybe a kiss on the cheek, but nothing too raunchy. They practically spent the entire holiday break attached to the hip like a couple going through a honeymoon phase.
Ugh.
“Listen, I’m the last person to judge what you want to do, so don’t get your undies all twisted.” Heechul yawned, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Anyways, have you just been in bed all day? You look tired.”
Pursing his lips, Baekhyun shook his head as he combed a hand through his hair. He needed a shower. “No… I just got back from something like an hour ago.”
“Another date?”
“Yeah.”
Rolling his eyes, Heechul snorted. “At this rate, when’s the wedding?”
“Stooop,” Baekhyun moaned, covering his face with his hands before smacking them on either side of him. “It’s really not that serious.”
Heechul gave him the side eye. “Whatever you say,” he said with a small grin on his face that let Baekhyun know that he knew better despite the juvenile objections. “Anyways, you should go shower before it starts getting busy. Everyone’s coming back today, you know.”
“I know, but I have to wait for Kyungsoo to come back. His flight arrived three hours ago. I need to talk to him before tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“Because, I…” He what? Basically stole his best friend’s crush? Not that someone could steal another person. There really was no such thing as calling dibs on other people, but still. Kyungsoo let him know first and he even advised him on what to do.
To be fair, Chanyeol liked him, even before Kyungsoo told him about his feelings for the giant. And if he was being honest with himself, he did really like Chanyeol back, and not in the way that was only good for forgetting someone else, but he genuinely did enjoy his company.
“You…?”
“It’s a bit complicated,” Baekhyun continued, exasperated. “I don’t know how to tell him about Yeol.”
“Uhhh, what’s there to tell him about? I don’t see why it matters.”
Sighing, Baekhyun pushed the covers off of himself and threw his legs over to the side of his bed. “Kyungsoo likes Chanyeol. You know, the guy I watched the movie with?”
“The same guy you’ve been inviting in here for the past two weeks?” Heechul always liked gossip so the twist in the topic of conversation intrigued him. “And the same one you kissed from before?”
“Yes-”
“He’s also been your gym buddy, too.”
That was also true, especially whenever Jongdae wasn’t available. He preferred working out in the early morning instead of in the evening or late at night, which made his habitual preferences different from Baekhyun’s own. Chanyeol, on the other hand, was more in sync with Baekhyun’s schedule so it made sense for them to go together…
“Yeah… But anyways, I just need to come clean about it and-”
Right at that moment, Baekhyun’s phone vibrated for a second before going back to being silent. Picking it up, he read the first thing across the screen.
[ Kyungsoo ] : I’ll come by soon! I just need to do something first. It’ll be quick-hopefully.
Scrunching his brows together, Baekhyun frowned as he opened the chat.
[ Baekhyun ] : Ok! No problem.
[ Kyungsoo ] : Thanks. Wish me luck!
Wait..
Was he…? Baekhyun frowned.
[ Baekhyun ] : Wish you luck for what?
[ Kyungsoo ] : I’m meeting up with Chanyeol right now.
Baekhyun abruptly jumped out of bed, startling Heechul. A brief second passed before he realized how weird and crazy he must’ve seemed before sitting back down on the edge of his mattress, phone still in hand.
[ Baekhyun ] : I thought you were going to talk to him later?
What the hell was the point in asking? He didn’t even know if he was trying to buy time. The objective seemed pretty murky even to him at that point.
[ Kyungsoo ] : I’m feeling pretty confident. I thought about it on the plane ride back from London. I should just do it.
No, he really shouldn’t.
Fuck. Baekhyun felt a headache starting to get to him.
[ Baekhyun ] : Isn’t it too soon?
It was almost laughable to say, though. He was the last person to talk when it came to talking about how one shouldn’t rush a relationship.
[ Kyungsoo ] : I mean, I just want to ask him how he feels. Either way, whether it’s now or later, the answer will probably be the same.
[ Kyungsoo ] : I’d rather know now than wait for the same answer, you know?
If Kyungsoo really wanted to know, Baekhyun could tell him right then and there. His hands were shaking. Not so much out of fear that Kyungsoo would find out, but more so about the fact that he was so damn excited and Baekhyun was just… a terrible friend.
[ Baekhyun ] : He doesn’t like you, Soo--
His fingers seemed to be moving on their own, but Baekhyun managed to stop himself before hitting the send button. Was it his place to say that? Yes… but also no. Frustrated, Baekhyun got out of bed again and hurried over to his closet, pulling out a jacket. There was light snow fall outside, which was just his luck.
Texting Chanyeol, he quickly said a good-bye to Heechul, who was in a bit of a confused loop over what was currently happening, and practically bolted out the door
[ Baekhyun ] : Hey, where are you right now?
Reaching the elevators, he hit the button requesting to go down.
[ Chanyeol ] : I’m about to meet Kyungsoo at the student cafe near his dorm. Said he wanted to talk about something.
Was it also his luck that Kyungsoo lived in the second farthest dorm away from him? Chanyeol’s dorm was even farther, but the thing about relative distance was that it meant both of their dorms were practically next to each other, making Baekhyun the odd one out in terms of location.
He wanted to explain everything to Kyungsoo in person and maybe that might make things a little better. It was also one thing for Chanyeol to tell him about them because, for one, Chanyeol didn’t know Kyungsoo even had feelings for him. Baekhyun did.
And Baekhyun was also the one who Kyungsoo confided to, so it made all the difference.
Pulling his jacket on him, Baekhyun started to run in the direction of Kyungsoo’s dorm building. It was usually a seven minute walk, but Baekhyun knew he could probably run it in about two minutes, maybe three if he was going to try and avoid slipping since cracking his head on the cement on the way there wasn’t part of the plan. In fact, it’d probably ruin his plan, which, if he was being honest with himself, kind of sucked and was definitely last minute.
The only thing running through his mind as he was running through courtyards and taking all the shortcuts he knew existed was the thought of letting Kyungsoo down. It was unavoidable, but there was no avoiding which scenario was better.
Did he dare try to text and run at the same time? He had never done it before and the combination didn’t sound like a great idea. There was also the snow making the ground damp and (somewhat) slippery. It just seemed like a bad idea all around.
But he still did it.
[ Baekhyun ] : Don’t tell Kyungsoo anything please?
He locked his phone and continued to run until he passed by the familiar courtyard for the dorm buildings on the east side of campus. Almost
immediately, he spotted them, halfway between each of their dorms, and Baekhyun
was forced to stop in his tracks.
Kyungsoo appeared to be saying something with Chanyeol nodding in response. The words were difficult to make out and even harder to try and read. Baekhyun had no other choice but to stand on the side, invisible, for a short time. His presence went unnoticed until Chanyeol glanced away from Kyungsoo’s view and looked surprised to see him there, breathless and tired.
“Baek?”
Biting his tongue, Baekhyun forced a smile on his face, but his feelings were still obvious. “Hi,” he said, eyes looking over to Kyungsoo who seemed…upset. “Um, can I talk to you? In private.”
“Why? Do you have something to tell me?”
“Um…” Did he forget how to talk? Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol for some help, but decided against it. “Yeah… I do… But you know what? You guys look busy so maybe I’ll just talk to you after-”
“Does it have something to do with you guys?”
When did his mouth get so dry? Maybe it was from when he ran over there…or maybe it wasn’t. “Did Chanyeol tell you?”
“That he likes you? Yeah, he did.” Kyungsoo paused. “Is there something else I should know that you don’t want him telling me?”
From the tone of his voice, Baekhyun could only guess what had happened. Sighing, he heaved his shoulders. “You got my message.”
“I did.”
Intervening, Chanyeol took a step in between the two. “Soo, it’s my fault. I-”
“I’m not mad at you, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo interrupted before turning his eyes towards Baekhyun. “And… I’m not mad at you either. I…just don’t like how you tried to hide things.”
“Soo, I wasn’t-” He tried to explain but was cut off.
“No, stop. I’m going to go,” Kyungsoo muttered. Looking away, he kept his eyes low as he turned on his heel and began walking back to his dorm.
-
-
[ Baekhyun ] : I think we should stop seeing each other.
[ Baekhyun ] : I like you, but Soo’s been my friend since grade school. I’m sorry.
Breaking up with someone over text message was such a cowardly thing to do, but Baekhyun couldn’t bring himself to do it in person. He wouldn’t have been able to do it at all.
Groaning, he fell back on his bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. It was the first day of the semester and he was already feeling like trash, something that only usually happened around midterms and finals. Luckily, Heechul was out for one of his drama club activities so Baekhyun had the room all to himself and no one to witness him in one of his moods.
His phone began to vibrate and Baekhyun put it in front of his face to see who it could’ve been.
Chanyeol.
Sighing, he put the phone down and let it ring out before silence was finally restored back in the room. He half-expected the giant to call again, but instead, received a text.
[ Chanyeol ] : Can we talk?
[ Chanyeol ] : Call me when you can.
Throwing his phone back on the bed, Baekhyun grabbed a pillow and hugged it against his face.
Fuck.
-
-
Kyungsoo didn’t reply to any of his text messages for two days and Baekhyun was forced to suffer the silence in lecture halls full of students and professors. He usually enjoyed sitting in the front, but for the meantime, he sat in the back. There was also a lingering feeling like Kyungsoo was also in his classes, being that they were in the same major, but he hadn’t spotted him at all. Between trying to get an answer back from Kyungsoo and ignoring Chanyeol all together, Baekhyun didn’t know who he missed more.
It wasn’t until the third day that Kyungsoo finally sent something back and he, of course, jumped at the opportunity to fix things between them.
[ Kyungsoo ] : Hey
[ Baekhyun ] : Hi.
[ Kyungsoo ] : Meet me outside my building around 12?
[ Kyungsoo ] : If you don’t have class.
[ Baekhyun ] : Yeah, I can go.
[ Kyungsoo ] : K. See ya in 15.
Taking a moment to breathe, Baekhyun looked up from his phone. Suddenly, he didn’t know whether it was the macchiato in his hand or the nerves making his hands shake, but he clenched them into fists in an attempt to stop.
It was useless.
Getting up from his seat, he began packing up all his belongings in his bag. Raising his head, he gave a smile over to Jongdae who was working behind the counter. “Hey, I’m going to go talk to Soo. Thanks for the drink and the, um, discount.”
“Don’t mention it,” Jongdae said, nodding. “Ah, but really, though. Don’t. I might get in trouble next time. Hope it goes well!”
“Thanks.” Baekhyun didn’t really know else to expect, but hopefully he’d get the chance to make things a little better (even though he didn’t know how to go about it yet). “I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah. Let me know if you need anything.”
-
-
Kyungsoo was standing next to a bench when Baekhyun arrived in the courtyard with his bag off to the side, waiting on his phone. Slowly, he approached him until he was near enough to call out his name.
After looking up and seeing Baekhyun, Kyungsoo put his phone away in the front pocket of his jacket. “Hi.”
“Hi…” Baekhyun bit his bottom lip and looked at the ground before forcing himself to make eye contact with his friend. “I… I just wanted to say that I--”
Putting his hand up, Kyungsoo signaled for him to stop. “Can I say something first?”
It would’ve been better if Baekhyun was able to make his case first, but he nodded, giving Kyungsoo the courtesy. “Sure.”
“You…” Pressing his tongue against his cheek, Kyungsoo paused, contemplating how to go on about with his words. “Somehow, you always end up with the people I like. I mean, there was Jongin, but you didn’t know about that. And now, Chanyeol.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to--”
“I’m not blaming you. That’s not why I was upset in the first place.” Kyungsoo sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me you liked him before we went on break? Hell, why not over break even?”
“I didn’t like him back then.” Baekhyun’s voice wavered. He wasn’t even sure of himself. At least, not entirely. “And I wasn’t sure about him, either. He didn’t tell me until later.”
“You should’ve told me--”
Shaking his head, Baekhyun argued back. “I tried! Yesterday! But you just left. How would’ve I been able to tell you if you just kept cutting me off? Yeah, Chanyeol likes me and…” And I like him too? A second passed. “And I might’ve had the same feelings, but I know that you told me first so that’s why I… I just cut things off with him. I’ve known you longer and I can’t--”
“You cut him off?” Kyungsoo frowned. “Like… you broke up.”
Heaving his shoulders, Baekhyun shrugged. “I guess you could call it that. It wasn’t anything serious so I’ve just been avoiding him for the past few days.”
Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, groaning. “Just cause I’m upset that you didn’t tell me doesn’t mean I want you to ghost him. What the hell are you doing?”
Taken aback, Baekhyun stared at him. “Wait… What? Did you want me to keep seeing him?”
“Well, obviously if you two like each other, what am I supposed to do? Force him to like me instead?”
“But I don’t want to keep seeing him if it means not having you as a friend over it.”
Moments pass before Kyungsoo offers up an apologetic smile. “It’s okay. I mean, it would’ve been nice if my feelings were reciprocated, but it’s just… I don’t know. It’s just one guy. There’ll be other people out there.”
“Soo, I--”
“Next time, though, maybe just don’t hype me up if you’re going to woo them away while I’m gone.” Before Baekhyun could say anything, Kyungsoo laughed. “I’m just kidding. I’ll get over it. Maybe I’ll start talking to Jongin more now that he’s single.” Baekhyun made a face that caught Kyungsoo’s curiosity. “What?”
“Mmm.. Nothing. He said he couldn’t do long distance relationships, but who knows. Maybe you can change his mind.”
“I think I can,” Kyungsoo said, shrugging one shoulder. He fixed the scarf around his neck before closing the distance between them. “It’s cold. Let’s go talk some more in my dorm. When’s your next class?”
“Not until two,” Baekhyun answered. As they walked towards the building, Kyungsoo hooked his arm through Baekhyun’s own. It surprised him, but the skinship was comforting, so he didn’t question it.
“Okay, I have some other things to talk to you about, anyways. We have a bit of time.”
“About…?”
Kyungsoo smiled. “We’ll get to it when we get there.”
-
-
When they arrived in front of Kyungsoo’s door, they finally unliked their arms so Kyungsoo could fumble around in his backpack in search for his keycard. As he waited, Baekhyun looked around the hallway until his eyes noticed the light underneath the door. Curious, he looked back at Kyungsoo.
“Is your roommate here?”
“Hm? Oh, Minseok?” Kyungsoo thought for a moment. He found his keycard and took it out of its pouch before swiping it through the reader. After the lock blinked the color green, he turned the knob and gestured for Baekhyun to go in first. “No. Minseok has all his classes in the afternoon so he’s probably in lecture if he’s not skipping already.”
“Then--” Baekhyun stopped so fast that Kyungsoo lightly bumped into his back. Upon seeing Chanyeol sitting on the latter’s bed, he turned back around, meaning to go outside, but Kyungsoo pushed him back in. “Soo.”
“Listen, if you love something, let it go,” Kyungsoo told him. “So, if you’re happy together, then just do it already and stop worrying about me like I’m five years old. I’ll be back in thirty minutes. Don’t mess up my room. Stay on my side and don’t touch any of Minseok’s things.”
With his lips pursed together, Baekhyun watched as Kyungsoo turned back and left the room, closing the door behind him. There was no way to lock the door from outside so he could leave if he wanted, but that seemed harder to do than just staying. It was also getting hot in the room and Baekhyun didn’t know if that was because of his jacket or the fact that Chanyeol was looking his way.
Exhaling, Baekhyun turned the other way, facing Chanyeol who hadn’t moved from the bed at all. The spotlight was entirely on him and Baekhyun was feeling pressure from himself to try and say something that wasn’t dumb. “Um… So, I…” He hated how he sounded. “Sorry about not responding. I was just…thinking about what was best. Ah, I mean, best for everyone.”
“Okay,” Chanyeol said slowly. “That sounds fair enough… but do you really feel that way?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean like… Do you still feel like it’s the best thing to do?” When Baekhyun didn’t answer, Chanyeol sighed, rising off the bed. “Do you just want to go back to being friends? I’m fine with that if you tell me that’s what you really want for us.”
“I should’ve called you back instead of putting you off like that. It’s just that you would’ve made it harder.” Baekhyun pulled the scarf away from his neck, thinking it would’ve helped. Only barely. “I think I just needed some space to put things in perspective.”
“And…?”
“Kyungsoo wasn’t talking to me, either, so it didn’t feel right.” Pausing, Baekhyun took a step forward. “But I want to keep seeing you… If that’s still a thing, I mean.”
“It is if you want it to be.”
That was a really smooth thing to say. Even Baekhyun had to admit it to himself. Giving the giant a small smile, he nodded. “I do.”
“Why?”
Baekhyun could tell that he was teasing. “What do you mean why?”
“Why do you want to keep seeing me? What about Kyungsoo?” It wasn’t a serious question. There was a hint of playfulness in his voice and Baekhyun could tell Chanyeol already knew the answer.
Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun made a sound of feigned disgusted. “Because I like you… and Kyungsoo knows. I think he’s okay with it. I mean, look at where we’re at right now.”
Chanyeol grinned, motioning for Baekhyun walk towards him (which he did). “Yeah, you’re right,” he said. Sliding his hands on either side of Baekhyun’s waist, he pulled him closer until they were just inches apart (if Baekhyun’s jacket wasn’t so thick that day). “I talked to him the other day about us. It was only appropriate. I didn’t want you two to stop talking because of me, so… I just called him and we hung out for a while.”
“And then?”
“He was fine with it and told me it wasn’t a big deal. Then he asked about you and, uhhh…” Chanyeol was so tall that he was able to rest his head on top of Baekhyun’s. “I told him how you’ve been ignoring me for the past few days. That seemed to upset him.”
“Were you not upset?”
“Shut up. Yes, I was--I really was.” There was a smile on Baekhyun’s face that Chanyeol couldn’t see until the giant pulled away just enough for their eyes to make contact and the latter could see how softly he was gazing at him. “You literally have no idea.”
The same mood that fell on them the night they first kissed returned and Baekhyun could see that it was the same feeling for Chanyeol. However, just as their lips brushed against one another’s the room door clicked and swung open, making the both of them jolt to see who it could’ve been.
Kyungsoo, with a hand covering most of his face, walked quickly into the room and headed straight for his desk. “Forgot my charger. Laptop’s dying,” he said as he rummaged through one of the drawers until he found what he was looking for. Then, just as he made his exit, Kyungsoo waved his other free hand in front of him. “Alright, bye! Carry on.”
It took some time after before the two of them burst out laughing, but as the laughter died back down, Chanyeol wiped a single tear from Baekhyun’s left eye. He smiled. “You want to try that again?”
“You don’t need to ask me twice. Of course I do.”
“Then let’s try this whole thing over again.”
“Want to go visit Namsan tower with me this Sunday before the new semester? Oh, and just so you’re not confused again, I’m asking you out on a date.”
“You’re so funny,” Baekhyun sarcastically remarked as he shifted his upright position on the bed, making sure that he kept the laptop between them stable.
Watching a movie on Netflix had become a normal occurrence over the break (and so did cuddling), so having Chanyeol in his dorm room felt more and more normal each time. At one point, he did worry about being too attached and missing the same activities later when everything was back to normal with the turn of the new spring semester, but that was already a given. He was already expecting to see Chanyeol less and more sporadic than regularly over the course of the months just by the fact that he was a computer science engineer and the workload was more intensive than Baekhyun’s own courses. But he decided to just enjoy the few days left they had.
“Is that a yes?”
“Yeah. Sounds fun.” The tower was a popular spot for couples to go to for dates, ultimately popular for the locks many people left behind. They weren’t official, just casually… together. For a moment, he wondered if Chanyeol wanted to do the whole lock thing, maybe scribble their names on one of the wooden posts on the way up the mountain. It seemed a little too early in their relationship, but there were always exceptions to the rule.
“By the way,” Chanyeol started, leaning against Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Can I ask you a question? If you don’t mind.”
“Shoot.”
“What were you doing at the party that night?” he asked. “I have a friend--Sehun. He’s part of the fraternity that threw the party so I’ve been to a few of the other ones. Most of the people I recognized, but you were just there that one time. You also left really abruptly, by the way. Didn’t even catch your name.”
“That was the point of leaving,” Baekhyun snorted, shaking his head. “A friend of mine was just looking after me. I didn’t know you at the time. Plus, I was having issues with my boyfriend back then, so it really wasn’t smart to do that with other people and--”
“Wait... Boyfriend?” Chanyeol reached out and tapped the space bar, pausing the movie. Then he turned his head, giving Baekhyun a confused expression. “You have a boyfriend.”
“Oh, sorry. Um, we just broke up around then, so he was my ex by the time we met. I kind of just felt like he still was.”
“So, no.”
“No, I don’t,” Baekhyun firmly said. When he felt Chanyeol relax, he sighed, grabbing his phone from the window sill where it was charging. After he unplugged the device, he pulled up his last conversation with Jongin. “See? Last thing he sent was an invite to get together with all our friends back home. Up until now, we haven’t talked at all.”
Glancing at the phone, Chanyeol quirked his lips before looking back and meeting Baekhyun’s gaze. “So, what I’m hearing is that you were pretending that I was…him…when we kissed.”
“That’s not exactly how I’d put it--”
“How would you put it as?”
Baekhyun wasn’t expecting the spot light to be on him. In his defense, he wasn’t even fantasizing about Jongin that night. It was purely with Chanyeol in mind, but saying it outright probably wouldn’t have convinced him enough to believe anything that Baekhyun said. The expression on his face alone said that he was really bummed and--
“I’m just playing around.” Chanyeol settled back in bed, leaning against the headboard. “I know. You don’t have to look all flustered.”
Groaning, Baekhyun smacked his arm. “I’m just trying to make you feel better! You looked all butt hurt a second ago and you’re here making me feel bad.”
“I was kidding! I didn’t mean to make you feel bad,” Chanyeol quickly apologized. “But for the record, I wasn’t ‘hurt’, okay?”
Scoffing, Baekhyun pressed a finger on the giant’s chest. “Yes, you were,” he insisted. “And you’re also a really bad liar.”
“Uh huh.” Stretching his arm out, Chanyeol pulled the smaller male closer to him. “You’re right. Can’t lie about the fact that I’m kind of glad that night happened.”
“Really?”
Chanyeol pretended to think about it a while before nodding. “Yeah. It was pretty much luck that I met Kyungsoo. If I hadn’t, he would’ve never introduced us.”
Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo....
Shit.
“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked, noticing the frown set across his face.
“Hm? Nothing.”
Chanyeol didn’t look like he bought it. The curious look on his face gave that fact away in a split second. “Are you sure?”
Pressing his lips together, Baekhyun nodded. “Yeah. Let’s unpause the movie.”
-
-
It was always in the back of his mind that Kyungsoo had told him how much he liked Chanyeol, even enough to try and confess some time later in the beginning of the new semester. But the thoughts were never there explicitly--not when Chanyeol was really good at distracting him. In between hanging out and watching movies in bed, he just hadn’t thought about it enough.
Baekhyun glanced over to his right, watching Chanyeol think about which lock to pick from the vendor. Then, heaving his shoulder, he pulled out his phone and turned to the side.
[ Baekhyun ] : Hey, when are you coming back? I need to tell you something.
“Hey.” Chanyeol touched his arm, causing him to jerk his head up as he turned back around. “Which one do you like better? Do you want a small one or do you want that big plastic rubber heart? We’ll be able to write something longer with the plastic one, but it’s up to you. What do you want?”
The smaller one seemed fine. Baekhyun felt like the bigger one seemed more appropriate for a relationship that was actually more serious than what they had. Yet, at the end of the day, they were both locks and they were going to write their names on it anyways.
“I think the bigger one’s a lot cuter.” Baekhyun pointed at one of the bigger ones. “I like that blue one.”
“Okay!” Smiling at the vendor, Chanyeol nodded at the heart Baekhyun had chosen. “We’ll take that one.”
As the old woman who was selling the locks took out a new one that was still in its plastic packaging, Chanyeol opened his wallet and handed over the money. After noticing the transaction, Baekhyun pulled him off to the side once they were far away from the stand.
“How much was that?”
“Like… ₩15,000?”
Baekhyun gaped at him. “What the hell? Why was it so much?”
Shrugging, Chanyeol ripped open the plastic. “Because we decided to be a bunch of tourists and buy it on the spot instead of somewhere down below before we even came up here,” he laughed. “It’s okay, though. I don’t mind.”
“I’ll give you half when we get back to campus.”
“Don’t. I won’t take it.” Throwing the plastic away in the nearest trash can, Chanyeol refused to hear the smaller male’s arguments. “I’ll let you pay for our subway tickets later. Then we can call it even.”
“That’s only one-tenth of what it cost you to buy that.”
“Tell you what,” Chanyeol said, leaning down closer to him. “You don’t need to worry about it cause I consider you and this whole date priceless.”
Baekhyun scrunched his nose before looking away. “God, you’re so corny.”
“Only for you!”
-
-
Baekhyun x Chanyeol
Je ne suis pas sans toi.
“What does that mean?” Baekhyun asked once the lock was in place.
Chanyeol grinned, giving him a coy wink. “I’ll tell you a year from now.”
-
-
The first thing Heechul said when he walked in was “Did you miss me?” and it took Baekhyun by surprise when the door hit against the door stopper. It practically shook the entire room, but his roommate didn’t seem to care (or notice) as he continued to enter the room, dragging his luggage case behind him.
“What’s that smell?”
Baekhyun pushed the covers off of him and sat up from his bed. “It doesn’t smell like anything in here.”
“Are you sure? Cause it smells like sex in here.”
“What!?” Baekhyun all but screamed it, but his exclamation was loud enough to make Heechul cringe.
“Calm down. I wasn’t being serious.” Leaving his luggage by his desk, Heechul shuffled his way over to the bed. “You don’t have to yell and wake up the whole floor.”
“Sorry--”
“Unless you really did use this room for that while I was gone.”
Baekhyun was quick to deny it. Nothing went on between him and Chanyeol besides movies and (sometimes) falling asleep together. Still, his face began to feel hot. “Don’t be dumb. We didn’t.”
Cocking his head at him, Heechul smirked. “We?”
A split second later, Baekhyun realized his slip up. “Ah, no. That’s not what I--”
“So, you took him back here after your nerd date?” Heechul shook his head, acting disappointed. “Didn’t think you’d be the type to take a guy home after the first date, Byun.”
“I’m not.” In all correction, he did invite Chanyeol back to his dorm room, but that was after their first date. It was only for the whole Netflix and maybe a kiss on the cheek, but nothing too raunchy. They practically spent the entire holiday break attached to the hip like a couple going through a honeymoon phase.
Ugh.
“Listen, I’m the last person to judge what you want to do, so don’t get your undies all twisted.” Heechul yawned, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Anyways, have you just been in bed all day? You look tired.”
Pursing his lips, Baekhyun shook his head as he combed a hand through his hair. He needed a shower. “No… I just got back from something like an hour ago.”
“Another date?”
“Yeah.”
Rolling his eyes, Heechul snorted. “At this rate, when’s the wedding?”
“Stooop,” Baekhyun moaned, covering his face with his hands before smacking them on either side of him. “It’s really not that serious.”
Heechul gave him the side eye. “Whatever you say,” he said with a small grin on his face that let Baekhyun know that he knew better despite the juvenile objections. “Anyways, you should go shower before it starts getting busy. Everyone’s coming back today, you know.”
“I know, but I have to wait for Kyungsoo to come back. His flight arrived three hours ago. I need to talk to him before tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“Because, I…” He what? Basically stole his best friend’s crush? Not that someone could steal another person. There really was no such thing as calling dibs on other people, but still. Kyungsoo let him know first and he even advised him on what to do.
To be fair, Chanyeol liked him, even before Kyungsoo told him about his feelings for the giant. And if he was being honest with himself, he did really like Chanyeol back, and not in the way that was only good for forgetting someone else, but he genuinely did enjoy his company.
“You…?”
“It’s a bit complicated,” Baekhyun continued, exasperated. “I don’t know how to tell him about Yeol.”
“Uhhh, what’s there to tell him about? I don’t see why it matters.”
Sighing, Baekhyun pushed the covers off of himself and threw his legs over to the side of his bed. “Kyungsoo likes Chanyeol. You know, the guy I watched the movie with?”
“The same guy you’ve been inviting in here for the past two weeks?” Heechul always liked gossip so the twist in the topic of conversation intrigued him. “And the same one you kissed from before?”
“Yes-”
“He’s also been your gym buddy, too.”
That was also true, especially whenever Jongdae wasn’t available. He preferred working out in the early morning instead of in the evening or late at night, which made his habitual preferences different from Baekhyun’s own. Chanyeol, on the other hand, was more in sync with Baekhyun’s schedule so it made sense for them to go together…
“Yeah… But anyways, I just need to come clean about it and-”
Right at that moment, Baekhyun’s phone vibrated for a second before going back to being silent. Picking it up, he read the first thing across the screen.
[ Kyungsoo ] : I’ll come by soon! I just need to do something first. It’ll be quick-hopefully.
Scrunching his brows together, Baekhyun frowned as he opened the chat.
[ Baekhyun ] : Ok! No problem.
[ Kyungsoo ] : Thanks. Wish me luck!
Wait..
Was he…? Baekhyun frowned.
[ Baekhyun ] : Wish you luck for what?
[ Kyungsoo ] : I’m meeting up with Chanyeol right now.
Baekhyun abruptly jumped out of bed, startling Heechul. A brief second passed before he realized how weird and crazy he must’ve seemed before sitting back down on the edge of his mattress, phone still in hand.
[ Baekhyun ] : I thought you were going to talk to him later?
What the hell was the point in asking? He didn’t even know if he was trying to buy time. The objective seemed pretty murky even to him at that point.
[ Kyungsoo ] : I’m feeling pretty confident. I thought about it on the plane ride back from London. I should just do it.
No, he really shouldn’t.
Fuck. Baekhyun felt a headache starting to get to him.
[ Baekhyun ] : Isn’t it too soon?
It was almost laughable to say, though. He was the last person to talk when it came to talking about how one shouldn’t rush a relationship.
[ Kyungsoo ] : I mean, I just want to ask him how he feels. Either way, whether it’s now or later, the answer will probably be the same.
[ Kyungsoo ] : I’d rather know now than wait for the same answer, you know?
If Kyungsoo really wanted to know, Baekhyun could tell him right then and there. His hands were shaking. Not so much out of fear that Kyungsoo would find out, but more so about the fact that he was so damn excited and Baekhyun was just… a terrible friend.
[ Baekhyun ] : He doesn’t like you, Soo--
His fingers seemed to be moving on their own, but Baekhyun managed to stop himself before hitting the send button. Was it his place to say that? Yes… but also no. Frustrated, Baekhyun got out of bed again and hurried over to his closet, pulling out a jacket. There was light snow fall outside, which was just his luck.
Texting Chanyeol, he quickly said a good-bye to Heechul, who was in a bit of a confused loop over what was currently happening, and practically bolted out the door
[ Baekhyun ] : Hey, where are you right now?
Reaching the elevators, he hit the button requesting to go down.
[ Chanyeol ] : I’m about to meet Kyungsoo at the student cafe near his dorm. Said he wanted to talk about something.
Was it also his luck that Kyungsoo lived in the second farthest dorm away from him? Chanyeol’s dorm was even farther, but the thing about relative distance was that it meant both of their dorms were practically next to each other, making Baekhyun the odd one out in terms of location.
He wanted to explain everything to Kyungsoo in person and maybe that might make things a little better. It was also one thing for Chanyeol to tell him about them because, for one, Chanyeol didn’t know Kyungsoo even had feelings for him. Baekhyun did.
And Baekhyun was also the one who Kyungsoo confided to, so it made all the difference.
Pulling his jacket on him, Baekhyun started to run in the direction of Kyungsoo’s dorm building. It was usually a seven minute walk, but Baekhyun knew he could probably run it in about two minutes, maybe three if he was going to try and avoid slipping since cracking his head on the cement on the way there wasn’t part of the plan. In fact, it’d probably ruin his plan, which, if he was being honest with himself, kind of sucked and was definitely last minute.
The only thing running through his mind as he was running through courtyards and taking all the shortcuts he knew existed was the thought of letting Kyungsoo down. It was unavoidable, but there was no avoiding which scenario was better.
Did he dare try to text and run at the same time? He had never done it before and the combination didn’t sound like a great idea. There was also the snow making the ground damp and (somewhat) slippery. It just seemed like a bad idea all around.
But he still did it.
[ Baekhyun ] : Don’t tell Kyungsoo anything please?
He locked his phone and continued to run until he passed by the familiar courtyard for the dorm buildings on the east side of campus. Almost
immediately, he spotted them, halfway between each of their dorms, and Baekhyun
was forced to stop in his tracks.
Kyungsoo appeared to be saying something with Chanyeol nodding in response. The words were difficult to make out and even harder to try and read. Baekhyun had no other choice but to stand on the side, invisible, for a short time. His presence went unnoticed until Chanyeol glanced away from Kyungsoo’s view and looked surprised to see him there, breathless and tired.
“Baek?”
Biting his tongue, Baekhyun forced a smile on his face, but his feelings were still obvious. “Hi,” he said, eyes looking over to Kyungsoo who seemed…upset. “Um, can I talk to you? In private.”
“Why? Do you have something to tell me?”
“Um…” Did he forget how to talk? Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol for some help, but decided against it. “Yeah… I do… But you know what? You guys look busy so maybe I’ll just talk to you after-”
“Does it have something to do with you guys?”
When did his mouth get so dry? Maybe it was from when he ran over there…or maybe it wasn’t. “Did Chanyeol tell you?”
“That he likes you? Yeah, he did.” Kyungsoo paused. “Is there something else I should know that you don’t want him telling me?”
From the tone of his voice, Baekhyun could only guess what had happened. Sighing, he heaved his shoulders. “You got my message.”
“I did.”
Intervening, Chanyeol took a step in between the two. “Soo, it’s my fault. I-”
“I’m not mad at you, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo interrupted before turning his eyes towards Baekhyun. “And… I’m not mad at you either. I…just don’t like how you tried to hide things.”
“Soo, I wasn’t-” He tried to explain but was cut off.
“No, stop. I’m going to go,” Kyungsoo muttered. Looking away, he kept his eyes low as he turned on his heel and began walking back to his dorm.
-
-
[ Baekhyun ] : I think we should stop seeing each other.
[ Baekhyun ] : I like you, but Soo’s been my friend since grade school. I’m sorry.
Breaking up with someone over text message was such a cowardly thing to do, but Baekhyun couldn’t bring himself to do it in person. He wouldn’t have been able to do it at all.
Groaning, he fell back on his bed and stared at the ceiling for a while. It was the first day of the semester and he was already feeling like trash, something that only usually happened around midterms and finals. Luckily, Heechul was out for one of his drama club activities so Baekhyun had the room all to himself and no one to witness him in one of his moods.
His phone began to vibrate and Baekhyun put it in front of his face to see who it could’ve been.
Chanyeol.
Sighing, he put the phone down and let it ring out before silence was finally restored back in the room. He half-expected the giant to call again, but instead, received a text.
[ Chanyeol ] : Can we talk?
[ Chanyeol ] : Call me when you can.
Throwing his phone back on the bed, Baekhyun grabbed a pillow and hugged it against his face.
Fuck.
-
-
Kyungsoo didn’t reply to any of his text messages for two days and Baekhyun was forced to suffer the silence in lecture halls full of students and professors. He usually enjoyed sitting in the front, but for the meantime, he sat in the back. There was also a lingering feeling like Kyungsoo was also in his classes, being that they were in the same major, but he hadn’t spotted him at all. Between trying to get an answer back from Kyungsoo and ignoring Chanyeol all together, Baekhyun didn’t know who he missed more.
It wasn’t until the third day that Kyungsoo finally sent something back and he, of course, jumped at the opportunity to fix things between them.
[ Kyungsoo ] : Hey
[ Baekhyun ] : Hi.
[ Kyungsoo ] : Meet me outside my building around 12?
[ Kyungsoo ] : If you don’t have class.
[ Baekhyun ] : Yeah, I can go.
[ Kyungsoo ] : K. See ya in 15.
Taking a moment to breathe, Baekhyun looked up from his phone. Suddenly, he didn’t know whether it was the macchiato in his hand or the nerves making his hands shake, but he clenched them into fists in an attempt to stop.
It was useless.
Getting up from his seat, he began packing up all his belongings in his bag. Raising his head, he gave a smile over to Jongdae who was working behind the counter. “Hey, I’m going to go talk to Soo. Thanks for the drink and the, um, discount.”
“Don’t mention it,” Jongdae said, nodding. “Ah, but really, though. Don’t. I might get in trouble next time. Hope it goes well!”
“Thanks.” Baekhyun didn’t really know else to expect, but hopefully he’d get the chance to make things a little better (even though he didn’t know how to go about it yet). “I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah. Let me know if you need anything.”
-
-
Kyungsoo was standing next to a bench when Baekhyun arrived in the courtyard with his bag off to the side, waiting on his phone. Slowly, he approached him until he was near enough to call out his name.
After looking up and seeing Baekhyun, Kyungsoo put his phone away in the front pocket of his jacket. “Hi.”
“Hi…” Baekhyun bit his bottom lip and looked at the ground before forcing himself to make eye contact with his friend. “I… I just wanted to say that I--”
Putting his hand up, Kyungsoo signaled for him to stop. “Can I say something first?”
It would’ve been better if Baekhyun was able to make his case first, but he nodded, giving Kyungsoo the courtesy. “Sure.”
“You…” Pressing his tongue against his cheek, Kyungsoo paused, contemplating how to go on about with his words. “Somehow, you always end up with the people I like. I mean, there was Jongin, but you didn’t know about that. And now, Chanyeol.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to--”
“I’m not blaming you. That’s not why I was upset in the first place.” Kyungsoo sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me you liked him before we went on break? Hell, why not over break even?”
“I didn’t like him back then.” Baekhyun’s voice wavered. He wasn’t even sure of himself. At least, not entirely. “And I wasn’t sure about him, either. He didn’t tell me until later.”
“You should’ve told me--”
Shaking his head, Baekhyun argued back. “I tried! Yesterday! But you just left. How would’ve I been able to tell you if you just kept cutting me off? Yeah, Chanyeol likes me and…” And I like him too? A second passed. “And I might’ve had the same feelings, but I know that you told me first so that’s why I… I just cut things off with him. I’ve known you longer and I can’t--”
“You cut him off?” Kyungsoo frowned. “Like… you broke up.”
Heaving his shoulders, Baekhyun shrugged. “I guess you could call it that. It wasn’t anything serious so I’ve just been avoiding him for the past few days.”
Kyungsoo rolled his eyes, groaning. “Just cause I’m upset that you didn’t tell me doesn’t mean I want you to ghost him. What the hell are you doing?”
Taken aback, Baekhyun stared at him. “Wait… What? Did you want me to keep seeing him?”
“Well, obviously if you two like each other, what am I supposed to do? Force him to like me instead?”
“But I don’t want to keep seeing him if it means not having you as a friend over it.”
Moments pass before Kyungsoo offers up an apologetic smile. “It’s okay. I mean, it would’ve been nice if my feelings were reciprocated, but it’s just… I don’t know. It’s just one guy. There’ll be other people out there.”
“Soo, I--”
“Next time, though, maybe just don’t hype me up if you’re going to woo them away while I’m gone.” Before Baekhyun could say anything, Kyungsoo laughed. “I’m just kidding. I’ll get over it. Maybe I’ll start talking to Jongin more now that he’s single.” Baekhyun made a face that caught Kyungsoo’s curiosity. “What?”
“Mmm.. Nothing. He said he couldn’t do long distance relationships, but who knows. Maybe you can change his mind.”
“I think I can,” Kyungsoo said, shrugging one shoulder. He fixed the scarf around his neck before closing the distance between them. “It’s cold. Let’s go talk some more in my dorm. When’s your next class?”
“Not until two,” Baekhyun answered. As they walked towards the building, Kyungsoo hooked his arm through Baekhyun’s own. It surprised him, but the skinship was comforting, so he didn’t question it.
“Okay, I have some other things to talk to you about, anyways. We have a bit of time.”
“About…?”
Kyungsoo smiled. “We’ll get to it when we get there.”
-
-
When they arrived in front of Kyungsoo’s door, they finally unliked their arms so Kyungsoo could fumble around in his backpack in search for his keycard. As he waited, Baekhyun looked around the hallway until his eyes noticed the light underneath the door. Curious, he looked back at Kyungsoo.
“Is your roommate here?”
“Hm? Oh, Minseok?” Kyungsoo thought for a moment. He found his keycard and took it out of its pouch before swiping it through the reader. After the lock blinked the color green, he turned the knob and gestured for Baekhyun to go in first. “No. Minseok has all his classes in the afternoon so he’s probably in lecture if he’s not skipping already.”
“Then--” Baekhyun stopped so fast that Kyungsoo lightly bumped into his back. Upon seeing Chanyeol sitting on the latter’s bed, he turned back around, meaning to go outside, but Kyungsoo pushed him back in. “Soo.”
“Listen, if you love something, let it go,” Kyungsoo told him. “So, if you’re happy together, then just do it already and stop worrying about me like I’m five years old. I’ll be back in thirty minutes. Don’t mess up my room. Stay on my side and don’t touch any of Minseok’s things.”
With his lips pursed together, Baekhyun watched as Kyungsoo turned back and left the room, closing the door behind him. There was no way to lock the door from outside so he could leave if he wanted, but that seemed harder to do than just staying. It was also getting hot in the room and Baekhyun didn’t know if that was because of his jacket or the fact that Chanyeol was looking his way.
Exhaling, Baekhyun turned the other way, facing Chanyeol who hadn’t moved from the bed at all. The spotlight was entirely on him and Baekhyun was feeling pressure from himself to try and say something that wasn’t dumb. “Um… So, I…” He hated how he sounded. “Sorry about not responding. I was just…thinking about what was best. Ah, I mean, best for everyone.”
“Okay,” Chanyeol said slowly. “That sounds fair enough… but do you really feel that way?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean like… Do you still feel like it’s the best thing to do?” When Baekhyun didn’t answer, Chanyeol sighed, rising off the bed. “Do you just want to go back to being friends? I’m fine with that if you tell me that’s what you really want for us.”
“I should’ve called you back instead of putting you off like that. It’s just that you would’ve made it harder.” Baekhyun pulled the scarf away from his neck, thinking it would’ve helped. Only barely. “I think I just needed some space to put things in perspective.”
“And…?”
“Kyungsoo wasn’t talking to me, either, so it didn’t feel right.” Pausing, Baekhyun took a step forward. “But I want to keep seeing you… If that’s still a thing, I mean.”
“It is if you want it to be.”
That was a really smooth thing to say. Even Baekhyun had to admit it to himself. Giving the giant a small smile, he nodded. “I do.”
“Why?”
Baekhyun could tell that he was teasing. “What do you mean why?”
“Why do you want to keep seeing me? What about Kyungsoo?” It wasn’t a serious question. There was a hint of playfulness in his voice and Baekhyun could tell Chanyeol already knew the answer.
Rolling his eyes, Baekhyun made a sound of feigned disgusted. “Because I like you… and Kyungsoo knows. I think he’s okay with it. I mean, look at where we’re at right now.”
Chanyeol grinned, motioning for Baekhyun walk towards him (which he did). “Yeah, you’re right,” he said. Sliding his hands on either side of Baekhyun’s waist, he pulled him closer until they were just inches apart (if Baekhyun’s jacket wasn’t so thick that day). “I talked to him the other day about us. It was only appropriate. I didn’t want you two to stop talking because of me, so… I just called him and we hung out for a while.”
“And then?”
“He was fine with it and told me it wasn’t a big deal. Then he asked about you and, uhhh…” Chanyeol was so tall that he was able to rest his head on top of Baekhyun’s. “I told him how you’ve been ignoring me for the past few days. That seemed to upset him.”
“Were you not upset?”
“Shut up. Yes, I was--I really was.” There was a smile on Baekhyun’s face that Chanyeol couldn’t see until the giant pulled away just enough for their eyes to make contact and the latter could see how softly he was gazing at him. “You literally have no idea.”
The same mood that fell on them the night they first kissed returned and Baekhyun could see that it was the same feeling for Chanyeol. However, just as their lips brushed against one another’s the room door clicked and swung open, making the both of them jolt to see who it could’ve been.
Kyungsoo, with a hand covering most of his face, walked quickly into the room and headed straight for his desk. “Forgot my charger. Laptop’s dying,” he said as he rummaged through one of the drawers until he found what he was looking for. Then, just as he made his exit, Kyungsoo waved his other free hand in front of him. “Alright, bye! Carry on.”
It took some time after before the two of them burst out laughing, but as the laughter died back down, Chanyeol wiped a single tear from Baekhyun’s left eye. He smiled. “You want to try that again?”
“You don’t need to ask me twice. Of course I do.”
“Then let’s try this whole thing over again.”